If butcher Johnny Pusztai had a pound for every time someone asked when he was going to open his hotly-anticipated restaurant, it would have paid for itself.
But finally, today, he has revealed that the opening date for his dawn-til-dusk venture, the Snobby Butcher Bistro, will be May 14.
Every course will be a meat eater's dream, from starters of pâté and terrines, prime cuts for mains, and even dessert where the Sweet Snobby Dog is a chocolate, cappuccino and chilli sausage in a hot dog doughnut bun with raspberry coulis ketchup and custard mustard.
"People have said 'when's it opening?' on the phone, on Twitter and Instagram. When, when when!? But I wanted to get it right," said Johnny.
"It's going to be a completely new chapter in my life from someone who supplies the best restaurants to hopefully having a restaurant that is up there with them.
"I want people to leave and say ' I want to go back there.'"
Mornings will start with sausages, home-cured bacon and black pudding, followed by pie or bangers and mash lunches.
Come the evening the menu will switch to steak and other premium cuts. On Sundays, "the most amazing" roast with roast potatoes cooked in dripping will be served at the 26-seater dining area within the butcher's shop in Mansfield Road, Sherwood, which recently rebranded from JT Beedham & Sons to the Snobby Butcher.
Themed evenings are also on the cards, including Hungarian nights celebrating Johnny's roots, with traditional dishes and live music, steak nights, and a spotlight on sausages, not unlike last month's event at Adams Restaurant in the city centre.
Scaled down portions will be served to youngsters and the menu will have a couple of veggie options too.
The long-awaited bistro has been well over a year in the making, after knocking through into a former off licence next door to create by day, a light, sunny space, and by night, more intimate surroundings.
Breakfast will be served from 8am to 12pm. Lunch will focus on classics such as pie or sausages and mash. A vast variety of sausages (we're talking at least 40 different flavours) are made at the back of the shop, packed full of meat from local farms.
Customers can go traditional with ale and beef and pork and apple or something a bit more out there, such as Devil's Chilli, an exotic spicy banger, or oriental-style duck, pork and plum.
Evenings will revolve around steak (8oz, 10oz and 12oz), mixed grills, gammon, pork and lamb, "all top quality," promised Johnny, who started working at the butcher's shop as a Saturday boy aged 12 alongside George and Bill Beedham.
Since the bistro has yet to get a licence to serve alcohol, it will be bring your own booze to begin with.
Chef Stuart Panton, who has previously worked at the Larwood and Voce, Hart's and Marco Pierre White's Steakhouse Bar and Grill will be manning the Josper oven.
An admirer of the award-winning butcher since moving to Nottingham four years ago, he said: "He was always someone I looked towards for my cooking. When I heard about the restaurant I thought this was something I'd really like to be involved in.
"It's always been an ambition to be a butcher or work in a butcher's shop so it's a fantastic opportunity. People can order whatever is in the window of the cabinets."
This will be Johnny's last year of starring in out-of-town demonstrations although he will continue to appear on stage at local events as well as running the outside catering arm of the business.
Bistro opening hours will be Tuesday to Thursday, 8am to 5pm, Friday and Saturday, 8am and last food orders at 9pm, and Sunday, 9am until 4pm for last orders. To begin with bookings are only being taken for Sunday lunch.
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